It is a normal thing for people in the state of Arizona to see their electricity bills suddenly rise with the start of a new year. The winter season has its way of affecting your utility bills. The biggest culprit is actually your water heater. If you want to lower your utility bills going into the new year, you should really look into the use of energy. When you keep a better track of your energy use, you will be able to determine the best possible ways in which you can save some money.
The most obvious aspect that you need to look into when you want to save energy costs is your water heater. If there is one thing that takes up excessive use of electricity in your home, it is the water heating unit. We have put together some useful tips that will help you bring down the water heater bill, which is usually high at the beginning of the year.
Use Water Efficiently
Water heaters are designed to provide homeowners an ample amount of hot water. This is especially true for the standard tank-based water heaters. They heat up several gallons of water that you can use easily during the day. You need to learn how to use the heated water more efficiently. There are several variations for the temperature settings that you can set for the water heater.
Adjusting the settings can help you minimize high water heater bills. Consider turning the temperature down to 120 degrees. If you keep the water heater temperature above 120 degrees, you are going to be wasting a lot of energy for no reason. There are more ways that you can use the water more efficiently to save on high utility costs.
You can consider taking a hot bath instead of a shower. That saves a lot of water. The less water you use, the less water your heater has to bring up to the right temperature setting. If you can start doing that and encourage other people in your home to do the same, you will notice a huge difference in utility bills.
Insulate Water Heater
Speaking of energy being wasted, you need to understand that your water heater works hard to heat up the water and send the warm water to all the fixtures in your house. The problem is that during the process of transporting the water throughout your home, a lot of the heat dissipates and the water cools down. This is a result of improper insulation in pipes and the water heater itself. This means the water heater has to work a lot harder to keep the water warm and higher water heater bills for you to pay.
If the pipes in your home are not well-insulated, there is little you can do yourself to change that. Plumbing is a huge ordeal that can only be dealt by proper professionals in the state of Arizona. The insulation of the water heater itself is also something that you should call in the professionals to handle.
If the water heater and the pipes are properly insulated, it will considerably lower the high water bills in your home. Insulating your water heater is not that hard if you want to do it yourself. You can purchase water heater blankets that are easily available at hardware stores. They provide an extra layer of insulation to the heater from the cold Arizona winter. If you are going for a more thorough means of insulating your water heater and piping, you should just call in the professionals.
Water Heater Maintenance
An inefficient water heater is also one of the main contributors to rising water heater bills. A malfunctioning machine is always going to be an expensive problem to deal with. This is especially true when you consider elements like the HVAC system and your water heater.
You might not notice a malfunctioning water heater because you will still be getting hot water. A lot of people tend to ignore that voice at the back of their minds which is telling them that there is something wrong with the water heater. Of course, they cannot keep on ignoring their hunch when the time comes that the water heater just is not heating any water. Ultimately, they end up with a broken water heater.
It is always necessary to get all your sensitive appliances checked at least once every 6 months or even once every year. Make it a point to appoint a certified plumber in Arizona to come in and check on the water heater and the rest of the plumbing in your home. If there is indeed a problem with your water heater, even a minor one, they can fix it for you and make sure that it does not become a bigger problem in the future. Usually, people cannot tell that there is something wrong with their water heater until it stops providing hot water.
Water heater bills spike up when they are not working properly because it takes them a lot more effort to heat up the water. Calling in a plumber for maintenance will help to make sure that your water heater is running smoothly throughout the year and especially in the cold winter months.
Final Thoughts
Are you facing the high water heater bill problem and you do not know how to deal with it? Give us a call. At Mesa Plumbing Services, we cater to all your water heater, gas and plumbing problems throughout the state of Arizona. If you have a problem that you cannot solve, call us in. We’ll handle it. You can contact us at (480) 832-1660 or visit our website at https://mesaplumbingcompany.com/.